knowledge time off Paternity leave
Father figures
Legislation being introduced next year will extend fathers’ entitled paternity leave. Alex Blyth finds out what the proposal includes, what impact it will have on the travel industry and what measures businesses must take in order to ensure that they are prepared for it
M
en who are planning to become fathers from April 2011 onwards recently received a boost with the introduction of legislation that will significantly increase the amount of time they can take as paternity leave. In a major change to UK employment law, their entitlement has been extended from two to 26 weeks.
These new stay-at-home Dads will not only provide welcome support to their children and partners but, if recent research from Sweden is to be believed, the extra leave will benefit their own health. A study of 7,200 men by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that taking up to two months off after a baby is born lowers a man’s risk of premature death by 25%. While fathers-to-be and their families may be looking forward to next April when these new laws come into force, their employers and colleagues may be less keen. After all, who will do their work while they are away looking after the sbaby?
For some smaller travel agents, this could become a serious problem.
The legislation
Current legislation lets men take two weeks’ paternity leave at the time of the birth or
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shortly after. The government’s new propos- als will offer fathers a second period of leave from 20 weeks after the baby is born, if the mother chooses to go back to work. They will be allowed to take anything from two to 26 weeks off at statutory pay, which is 90% of the man’s average weekly earnings or £124.88 – whichever is lower. Gwen Brassington, an employment lawyer with commercial law specialists Capital Law, says: “Essentially, this new legislation gives parents the option of dividing the period of leave entitlements between them.” While April may seem a long way off, Elaine Gibson, senior policy officer at the Institute of Payroll Professionals, says employers may need to act sooner if a baby due in April arrives early — maybe as soon as November. “Revenue & Customs
aims to produce a helpbook on these new laws, which is likely to be released in October or November, in time for the first claims,” she says.
What it means for you
The impact of this legislation is likely to fall most heavily on small companies, such as travel agents.
Gina Daniels, Advantage’s human resources manager and company secretary, says: “In small to medium-sized organi- sations, absences of any kind can have a significant impact, because staffing levels are usually tight and work cannot therefore be passed on to colleagues.
“For those companies, employing cover for paternity leave will inevitably result in higher recruitment and training costs.” But the news isn’t all bad.
Given that around two-thirds of those who work in the travel industry are women, these new
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